Comments made by a judge hearing a patent dispute between handset maker HTC and Apple could portend trouble for the launch of the new iPhone. According to Bloomberg, the judge said that a pair of patents challenged by Apple appear to be valid. That means HTC could request and receive an injunction against the importation and sale of the iPhone 5.

From the Bloomberg story:

“Clear and convincing means something to me,” U.S. International Trade Commission Judge Thomas Pender said yesterday in Washington, referring to the legal standard in determining that a patent shouldn’t have been issued. “I have to be pretty darn certain a U.S. patent is invalid.”

HTC accuses Apple of infringing two patents it owns for ways to reliably transmit a larger amount of data. Taoyuan, Taiwan-based HTC said the patented methods are critical to the 4G technology known as LTE, or long-term evolution, that allow faster downloads.

The next iPhone is expected to have the ability to connect to LTE networks, as does the most recent iPad. If the ITC judge’s comments indicate the way he’ll rule, HTC could ask for a ban on those two Apple devices – and get it.

Whether this would happen fast enough to block initial sales of the iPhone 5 is not clear. The judge would have to rule, and the request for an injunction would need to be filed and then acted upon. Of course, Apple would appeal the ruling, which means a ban could be delayed. Or not.

In the past, Apple has started accepting online pre-orders for its iPhone and iPads shortly after a launch announcement. Sales of the devices in stores begin some time after that.

Complicating matters is the fact that the HTC suit isn’t the only threat to the iPhone 5′s launch. Samsung holds its own patents on LTE, and reportedly is planning to sue Apple should the iPhone 5 support that technology.

I’d be surprised if any jurisdictional body moved fast enough to stop the iPhone 5′s launch. But if you’re planning to buying an iPhone 5 as soon as it’s available, you may end up waiting longer than expected.